A funding bill passed through Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump on 13 November 2025, ending a government shutdown that lasted 43 days. The shutdown, the longest in American history, had begun on 1 October 2025 and surpassed the previous record of 35 days set during Trump’s first term.
The bill restored funding for federal agencies, programmes and departments, and provided back-pay to hundreds of thousands of federal workers who had not received pay since the shutdown commenced. It also reversed shutdown-related layoffs and reinstated furloughed employees.
The legislation included provisions that made it illegal for federal prosecutors to search senators’ phone records without notice, with retroactive effect to 2022, enabling several Republican senators to seek payouts of up to $500,000 for violations. It also reversed the 2018 legalisation of cannabis-derived hemp, reinstating a ban on the substance.